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L. T. FREDERICK 1,872,134

IETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING DISKS Filed Jan. 1s, 192s n4sheets-sheet 1 n A Wkvl am J .IIIJ n .M w. www1... LLI.. m 'n d T? Y n nil. m.\ mv a I 7 n .WS

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Aug. 16, 1932.

`L. T. FREDERICK IETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING DSKS Aug. 16, 1932.

, 4SheetS-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 18. 1928 Aug. 16, 1932. r.-FREDER|CK1,872,134

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING DIsKS Filed Jan. 18, 1928 4Sheets-Sheet 3 llg 16, l932- T. FREDERICK 1,872,134

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AssEMBLING Dlsxs Filed Jan. 18, 1928 4Sheets-Sheet 4 A N A AM Patented Aug. 16, 1932 uN-rrEui` sifirrEsiIoFF-[CE Louis r. FREDERICKOF VALPARAISO, lINDIANA,s AssIGNoR; DY MESNE-Ass1erNi\ InN'1s,`

To CONTINENTAL DIAMOND FIBRE coiiirrANr,.oFfNEvvnmLDELAWARE,V A eoiaro-:1i

RATON OF' DELAWARE.

METHOD yAND APPARATUS FoRAssnmBmNG Disxs My inventiony relates toa'm'etliod andl ape paratus for. assembling'. discs in concentricadgacent relationship and while I have hereinafter described a preferredembodiment in :nvliic'li I have applied the principles-of the inventionparticularl'yto the assembling'of mica discs of unequalfdiameter vtoform'laminated blanks adapted to be fed to a'closingf the assembly ofyblanks for any particular*` purpose but contemplates broadly theprovision' of'means for assembling laminated` A vice embodying y myinvention;

blanks, comprising concentrically arranged discs, for any purpose.

In my (zo-pending application Serial #147 ,710 filed November 11, 1926,Iliave illustrated acentering die on closing mould* adapted-toreceive apluralityof mica discs,

center vthe discs in the die and shape the same :f

to form commutator rings. It will be readily appreciated that wheresuoli an article is made by pressing mica discs in a` closing" mould,considerable time will be lost if the discs have to be separatelyplaced-in the die by hand. By assembling theqdiscs into a laminatedblank comprising superposed discs arranged in concentricalignment, andfeeding tlieblanlrs to the die,-the manufacturing process may besimplified and the costs thereof substantially reduced. Moreover Ain'feeding discs to a die byy hand,.the operator may omit some of the discsin which case the resulting product will be defective- Y One objectoftheinvention is to provide an apparatus-for mechanically assemblingl-aj pluralityof discs in concentric andadjacent relationship to providea laminated blank.

Another object of the invention is the elimthe ultimate `cost ofmanufacturing articles* formed from laminated blanlrs.A

Another object ofthe invention'is to 'pro- Y videa machine forassembling'.discsof-una` n v l i u A E machine for Valigningdiscs of anyshape or equal size Jin'concentric relationship."v4 l Aiiotlierobject ofthe invention is to proy vide afmeans forassembling andsecuring discs ofunequal `vsizein concentric relation-` ship to forma unitary llaminatedblank;

Still 'another' object ofitheV invention is to providea laminated blankadapted to be fed into a lsha'pingimachine as fa unit.

Numerous objects and advantages will beY apparent as th'einvention ismore fully understood from the following description, vwliiclrftakei-iin connection with the accom- 'panying drawings discloses a preferredembodiment of the invention-l Referring lto the drawings: .Figurel is aside elevation view of a del member element of fthe' deviceillustra-tedv in Figurel; Y

Figure liis an end elevation View of a portion of Vthe ydeviceillustrated in vFigure 1 taken from the right. y

F'giires' and 6 are respectively perspective views ofan individual discand a laminated blank'as-assenibled by thedevice of my in- `vention;

yon thedrawings a preferred embodiment especially adapted to assemble.two circular discsof unequal size inconcentric contiguous .relationshiptofprovide ala-minated blank such as may beconveniently fed as a unit toinati'onl of Waste, both `of time 'and material, 1a mould of the typeluustmted and descnbed in my above mentioned co-pending applica'- tion,Serial No. 147,710 led Novemberll, 1926,but it willkbe apparent thatthescope ofthis inventionris not limited to a machine forassembling blankscomprising two discs only, or circular discs only, orfdiscsiof`-un-yequal 5 size, my Iinvention contemplating aV size to form a laminatedblank for'any purose. p The illustrated embodiment comprises variouselements which are supported upon a main frame 11, formed from angleirons 13, which supports a bed plate 15 on which the elements of theassembly device are mounted. A driving motor 17 which may be of anyconvenient type, is secured to the frame 11 by means of a support member19. The motor has a fly wheel or pulley 21 and drives the moving partsof the assembly device, the pulley 21 being connected by means of a belt27 to a stepped pulley 29 mounted on a shaft 31 which operates throughreduction gears 39 and a train of gears and pinions 41 to drive a. shaft37, suitably ourna-led in bearings mounted in the bed plate 15 andcarrying fly wheels 35 at its opposite ends. The llywheels i35, in turn,impart reciprocating motion to a cross head 23 by means of connectingrods 33 engaging the cross head and pivotally mounted on crank pins 34secured in the fly wheels 35. The shaft 31 andthe reduction gears 39 areall suitably supported in the main frame 11, and the cross head isarranged to reciprocate along the bed plate 15.

A type of laminated blank formed by the operation of my assembly deviceis illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings, and comprises, in thepresent instance, two circular discs 25 of unequal size and having each'a centrally disposed opening 26. The discs are carried, before assembly,in magazines' 68 and V69which comprise cylindrical tubes veach having aninterior diameter slightly larger than that of the discsv which theycontain. In the embodiment illustrated, the larger magazine isdesignated by the reference numeral 69. These magazines are supported ina grooved plate 49 suitably secured, by means of bolts 57, to the baseplate 15, the magazines being arranged in position to drop discs intochannels 59 formed by recessing the plate 45 immediately under the lowerends of the magazines. These'channels lead to an assembly chambercomprising a centering aperture 55 formed through the plate 45 and analigned opening 45 formed through the bed plate 15 immediately under theopening55. The cross head comprises a frame having disc carriers 7 7fastened thereto and adapted to slide in morticed grooves 47 formedlongitudinally in the upper surface of the plate and centrally beneaththe magazines. These `carriers have upper portions operating in groovesformed in the lower surface of theV plate 45 and are adaptedto engage adisc dropped into the channel from a magazine and carry such disc to thecentering aperture. Upon retraction of the disc carrier, a'spring catch95 prevents the retraction of the disc therewith, and the disc remainsin the centering aperture and drops ontoa spike 99 arranged in positionto .enter the aperture 26 of the disc. .Discs are carried alternatelyfrom the magazines to the assembly chamber and are deposited on thespike 99. Means is provided for depositing drops of suitable adhesivematerial, such as shellac, upon the upper surface of the Vlarger of thediscs 25 immediately before it is dropped onto the spike 99 by theretraction of the carrier. When the next succeeding disc is dropped onthe larger disc so treated, the adhesive material so deposited willsecure tlc discs together and the spike passing through the aperture 26of adjacent discs, secures them in concentric alignment until theadhesive material hardens and secures them in position. The aperture 55has a. diameter slightly large than that of the disc carried by themagazine 69 and when a dies `is pushed along the channel 59 into thisaperture, the wall thereof opposite the opening of the channel engagesthe edge of the disc and centers it over the spike 99. ln order topermit this, the channels leading from'the magazines are not arranged inthe same plane, but the channel leading from the maga-zine 68 is offsetabove the channel fromv magazine 69. ln order to center the smaller discover the spike 99, the centering aperture 55 is restricted op posite theopening of the smaller channel to provide centering aperture 63 having aciameter of proper size to receive and center the smaller disc.

For convenience in manufacture, I have formed the plate 49 in two parts,the lower part having a recess or cut-out depression 50 and the upperpart comprising a template 61 formed to seat in this recess and havingapertures 65 and 67 for receiving the lower ends of the magazine tubes68 and 69 respectively. The template provides a cover for the grooves 59which are formed in the bottom of the cutout portion 50, and issupported in place on `shoulders 58 which are formed at the bottom ofthe cut-out 50 around the edges of the grooves 59. rlhe template 61 issecured in the plate 49 by means of set screws 71 carried in tappedholes 73 formed in the plate 49. The restricted centering aperture 63also is formed 'in the template 61. The cut-out depression Vthan thediameter of the smaller discs, and

the depression 52 being connected with the aperture 55 by a groove,` thediameter of which is slightly greater than the diameter of the largerdiscs.

The depression 51 is shallower than the depression 52 by an amountslightly greater than thethickness of the discs 25, and the rectangular`inf-.cross 1 section andi extending longitudinallyV across thelowerfsurface ofthe plate; n This groove =crosses the i7 apertureige-marmi slightl T. greater: than ,fthe diameters.l respec;

tively, of ;the'smaller Land larger discs, aextend I' fromz :theaperturev'5 inwardly intothefde-i ypressions 51and52. "llheformationof.these echannels provide ledges orf shoulders.581 at: the edges ofdepressions 5l and 52,which`r shoulders-are cutaway atvthe side of.the-depression adjacentftheaperture.55. Theplate 49 is providedwith-afgroove .54 substantially diametrally and extends-from therVbottom u face of theplate upwardly to the bottom of the.. depression 51,at' one side, .and'upwardly to the bottom ofthe depressiolr 52attheother side of the plate.`

,The third; platel or template 61 has y a: pe-

;- ripheral cont-our: 4conforming withy the out.

line of fthe-i depression k and is adapted to seat therein.The'ftemplate 1 has.y a thickness at one end :equal vto thedepth of thedepres+ sion 52 fand/is cutfiaway. atthe other end to A snugly fit intothe shallowerf'arm 5.1 of thev cut-out 50, the ends ofthe templaterestingV upon the shoulders 58. The larger magazine 69 is adapted to litinto an aperture 67 formed in one end of the template while the smaller.magazine is similarly fitted at its lower or discharge end into anaperture formed in the other end of the template. The lower ends of themagazine tubes rest upon the shoulders 58. The groove 54 of the plate 49registers with the morticed groove 47 at the base plate 15 and theaperture 55 of the former aligns wit-h the aperture 45 of the latter.

The disc carriers 77 comprise retracting a slides secured to the crosshead 23 by means of a shaft which passes through a hole 83 formed in alug 81 at the butt end of the slide. Each slide has a bevelled portion75 adapted to seat in the morticed groove of the plate 43 n and an upperportion adapted to slide in the groove 54 of the plate 49. rIhe uppersurface of this portion is cut away at the forward end of the slide toprovide a disc receiving seat 85. The upper surface of the disc is alsow1 grooved out to form an inclined plane surface 89 between the uppersurface of the slide and the disc seat 85. 'I` his surface is formedcentrally of the slide to provide shoulders 87 at one end of the discseat and on each of the inclined plane surfaces.

Figure 8 of the drawings shows a detailed cross sectional view of theparts in assembled position. In operation the slides 77 reciprocatebeneath the magazines. 68 and 69 which 'v'.ffeach deposit discs in thechannels 59, when the slides are fully retracted. As a slide movestoward the aperture 55, the rshoulders 87 engage behind the depositeddisc and move it along the channel into the main assembly chamber whichcomprises the centering aperin turn ,engaging inthe aperture `63, thesides Y of which apertures align the discs directly over thefspilre^99iResilient springs 95 are secured to the lower surface of the template G1by means-of screws 97 as shown in Figure 8l These springs allow thediscs to be slid alongfthechannels 59 into the assembly chamber andprevent withdrawal of the same when the disc carriers are retracted, thesprings slidingalong the inclined planes 89 between the shoulders 87 inorder to accomplish this function. Upon retraction of a slide, the discfalls .and 2is secured upon thespike 99 which passes through theaperture 26y of the disc. In order to secure adjacent discs yin alignedrelationship, I have provided means for depositing a drop of adhesivematerial on a disc while it is aligned in the assembly chamber andbefore' it is droppedon the spike by the retraction of the slide 77.-rIhese means comprise an: inkingv device similar to the one illustratedand described in my co-pending; application `Serial :No. 247 ,671 filedof even date/herewith, .the discharge nozzles 101 of whiclrare shownarranged immediately` above the opening63 in'y position to dischargedropsof "adhesive into the assemblyV chamber; Themechanism of the inkingdeviceis suitably controlled byy the. movement of the cross head 23 todeposit twor drops91 of shellac or `other-suitable adhesive materialuponwa disc, .substantially as illustrated in Figure 5-of the drawings,.when the `disc is`v in .position within the aligning aperture. y

The-.spike99 is mounted in a carriage 103 slideably secured in lateralgrooved members 105 suitably vmounted in the frame' `11=inposi tionto-allow-the-spiketo be kdrawn out' from beneath the assembly chamber,the basejplate 15 being; slottedv 'at107to permit the tip. of thespikeitoslideout. The disc carriers 77 alsovarefeachfxprovidedwith agroove109 in their bottom surfaces to allow them to slide freel-y =over the[spike Iti'p vwhen projected into the assembly chamber.

. It :will :be: apparent thatnumerous changes maybe made in A'thefornn`structure and arrangement of ythe parts, hereinillustrated anddescribed,without .departingfrom the spirit and scope of this inventionand the devices maybearranged to accommodate and align flat elementshavingother peripheralv conligurationsthanlthe-circular discsspecifically described, the disclosure being hereink merely of'apreferred form of my invention.

lVhatI claim vas new and desire to secure by I`Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. .In a; device of the class described, a frame, a 'plurality ofmagazines arranged in saidiframe, .retractor means for drawing disc`from said magazine to anV assembly chamber in said frame, meanscontrolling said 4ret-ractor i whereby Ydiscs may' Ybe drawn from saidmagazines to said assembly chamber in a definite sequence, and means forreceiving assembled discs from said assembly chamber. f

2. In a device or the class described, a

i frame, a plurality of magazines arranged in said frame, a commonassembly point in said frame, means for ejecting discs from saidmagazines to said assembly point, and means q for receiving said'discsfrom said assembly point.

3. In a device of the class described, a frame, a plurality of magazinesarranged in said frame, a common assembly point formed f in said frame,means for ejecting a disc from any one of said magazines to saidassembly point means for receiving said disc in relatively alignedposition from said assembly point and means `tor depositing adhesivematerial upon said ejected disc at said assembly point` in order tosecure the disc to the disc next ejected to said point. 4. In a deviceof the class' described, a frame, plurality oi disc containing magazinesarranged in said frame, means for ejecting a disc from any of saidmagazines to an assembly point in said frame, means Jfor ejecting a discfrom another of said magazines and superposing said ejected disc inconcentric alignment upon said first disc and means for removing saiddiscs vfrom said assembly point.

5. In a device of the class described, a frame, a plurality of disccontaining maga- :zines Yarranged in said frame, means for ejectingdiscs from said magazines and superposing said ejected discs inconcentric alignment. y

6. In a device of the class described, a Nframe, a plurality of disccontaining magazines arr( nged in said frame, means for eject-` ing adisc from said magazines and superposing said ejected discs inconcentric alignment and means for securing said discs in aligned .sposition. i

7'. In a device of the class described, a frame, disc containingmagazines arranged in said frame, a common assembly point formed in saidframe, channels formed in said frame and adapted to receive discs fromsaid magazines, andV means 'for moving a disc along said channel to saidassembly point.

8. In a deviceV of the class described, a frame, disc containingmagazines arranged ce' in said frame, a common assembly point formed inVsaid frame, channels adapted to receive a disc from a magazine, formedin said frame and opening into said channel, and a reciprocating carrierfor moving a disc along said channel and into said assembly point. Y

9. In a device of the class described, a frame, disc containingmagazines arranged in said frame, an assembly chamber formed 10' in saidframe, channels adapted to receive a disc from a magazine, arranged insaid frame and extending from said magazines to said assembly chamber,co-operat'ing n cans acting in each channel for moving the discs to saidchamber and means preventing the retraction of the discs in saidchannels.

10. In a device of the class described, a frame, an assembly chamber,disc magazines carried in said frame, means for feeding discs to saidchamber from said magazines, a removable carrier in said assemblychamber on which the aligned discs may be deposited for removal from thechamber.

1l. In a device of the class described, a `frame, an assembly chamber,disc magazines carried in said frame, means for feeding discs to saidchamber from said magazines, a removab'le carrier in said assemblychamber on which the arranged discs may be deposited in relativelyaligned position, said carrier comprising a member adapted to engage acut-out formed in said discs.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

LOUIS T. FREDERICK.

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